Ang Mga Kaibigan Ni Mama Susan

I’ve been reading Bob Ong’s books since college, ever since a friend brought her copy of his first book, A B N K K B S N P L A Ko (That reads as Aba Nakakabasa Na Pala Ako – literal translation: Wow, I Can Read Now). Bob Ong is one of the popular Filipino writers, who, until now, I am not sure if he is really one person or many contributing to one book. I’ve read almost all of his books ever since then, always looking forward to his funny words of wisdom that pokes and reflects on modern Filipino culture. I remember resorting to his books whenever I needed a pick-me-up, and since then, he’s become one of those authors that I buy even if he isn’t really a favorite. Perhaps this is an addiction?

So when I saw Bob Ong’s latest book in Fully Booked, Ang Mga Kaibigan ni Mama Susan (Translation: Mama Susan’s Friends), I didn’t think twice in getting it. I wasn’t even sure what it was about — I just knew it was Bob Ong, and whatever it is, I would probably like it. Even if I did not, it’s still local fiction, so I figure it’s still a win, right?

Ang Mga Kaibigan ni Mama Susan brings us back to the days of school journals. Everyone must have had a teacher who made them do a journal for school — a small notebook with a recollection of what happened for a certain period of time to be read and graded by a teacher. I don’t really know the purpose of why our teachers made us do this except maybe for my college Literature professor. That wasn’t a particularly hard assignment for me, anyway, as I’ve always been journaling on my own — it was all a matter of filtering what you write for school, you see.

I didn’t know what the book was about when I got it. It wasn’t until I got back to the office to read about the book when I finally saw this trailer:

The trailer is in Filipino, but you don’t really need to understand it to figure out that this book is horror, especially when you get to the last part of the trailer. That stopped me from reading the book immediately. I was never a fan of horror, and I really go out of my way to avoid anything scary. I’m not a screamer, and I’m usually calm in reading or watching or listening to scary stories but my imagination wrecks havoc in me after.

So when I decided to read the book, I told myself I need to finish it in broad daylight. And so I did. In Mga Kaibigan ni Mama Susan, we meet Galo, who first started writing on a journal for an assignment and ended up keeping it because he did not want to waste his notebook. He chronicles his life in Manila where he lives with his relatives who never made living with them easy for him. He gets fed up with them and leaves to go back to the province to stay with his grandmother who raised him before he left for Manila. Things changed drastically from what he remembers in the province. Instead of finding the town to be just less noisier than Manila but still with improvements from his last visit, he finds that the town went backwards and were rejecting technology (no heated mattress pads, for example). His grandmother’s house grows increasingly creepier with the presence of different statues of saints and the weekly gatherings of her grandmother’s friends in her house. As weirder things start to happen, Galo tries to escape, but finds that there may be powers stronger than he is that are keeping him from doing so.

Talk about creepy. I read this in one bright and sunny afternoon but I couldn’t shake off the creeps especially in the last pages. I think one thing that made it really scary is the fact that it is a journal, and it’s a first person account. I liked how Bob Ong’s words flowed naturally and Galo’s voice rang clear all through out. I found that it wasn’t much different from the voices of his other characters from his previous books but there’s this distinct Bob Ong feel to it that is familiar. There’s also the fun references to some of the things I grew up with as a kid.

While I enjoyed reading it because of Bob Ong, I can’t say I liked it because like I said, I don’t like horror. The story is interesting and the last pages are truly creepy, but as a whole, it’s not my book. My rating isn’t really based on how much the book lacked but really more of a genre preference. If you’re a horror fan, you’ll probably enjoy this, but if you’re a big chicken like me…skip. For your peace of mind, skip it.

To further prove my point: after I finished reading this book, I woke up in the middle of the night from my sleep needing to go to the rest room. I almost decided not to go because it would mean standing up and going there alone, and who knows what I will find when I open my bedroom door? I keep on remembering the face in the trailer and freaked out at the thought of seeing that in the dark corners of our apartment. I got up eventually because I couldn’t hold it in any longer. But I left all doors and lights open, and ran back to the bedroom right after doing my business, all the while my mind remembering the last words of the book in absolute clarity.

have you seen the reviews on good reads? a lot of people doesn’t seem to like the book. then again, reading the comments on my own post about the book, it seems as if there are a equal number of people who liked it.

i’m looking forward to more horror books of bob ong, if this one’s an indication of his strength in the genre. :)

Yeah, I know some people who didn’t really like this one on goodreads too. But maybe other people have a high expectations on this one and they’re the ones who really didn’t like it? It can be corny at some points, but the ending really quite freaked me out. :D

I almost clicked the play button for the trailer! Good thing I finished reading the review first; wouldn’t dare clicking it now! ^^. I hardly watch horror movies because once I close my eyes at night vivid images of what I’d just seen would start to play. Gah. And I believe a horror book would be worse for me, it would convey scary images more vividly than a movie ever could. That’s why I am also quite reluctant to pick up zombie related books like Feed (which you highly recommend) Although I was able to sit through Zombieland (but this is kind of a comedy, so I think this counts as an exception) :P

Feed is more political than scary, really. Zombie novels are more sci-fi for me than horror. :D Although I did get scared when I was watching my brother play Resident Evil when we were younger. Haha.

This one has the scary elements of Filipino superstitions. You know those movies where the characters end up staying in a creepy house with weird images that are supposed to be holy but end up…scary? That kind of thing. Haha. I’d rather read about zombies and even vampires than read something supernatural that I could easily imagine wherever I am. Hee.

Same here. I saw this at NBS the day it was released last year and was just about to pick it up because hey, it’s a Bob Ong book! But I ended up not getting it because images of my growing pile of unread books flashed in my mind.
My officemate read it and spent the rest of the day talking about it (much to my dismay). I also didn’t know it was a horror book and I’m thankful for my officemate for the advance warning. I generally don’t like horror films and so it would be sensible for me to avoid books like it too. Although my officemate did say it’s a really funny horror story. Still, it’s horror so…

Yay to us non-fans of horror? It’s one of the many lessons I learned after the nth watching of those Halloween episodes of the now defunct Magandang Gabi Bayan — if I won’t be able to sleep after watching it, then I should avoid watching it altogether. Doesn’t stop me from telling scary stories every now and then, though. ^^

hi ms. tina,, i only learned about this book last January and learned it was scary,, though im a not a fan of horror stuff, i decided to read this book since im always interested on BO’s books… then i read it last week.. i cant get sleeping in peace since most of my imagination starts at night,,, then it was just like a movie playing in my head.. especially his most creepy moments inside the house….

I bought this book with my boyfriend, we just picked it and bought it without any hesitations. I chose it just because of the color not thinking of its story.. i didn’t think that it would be that creepy as that. but anyways, i’m a big fan of bob ong!nice delivery..

If you want a good sleep, don’t ever read the final pages at night.. With the description of the scenes, you can really picture out the people “kapatiran” in the book as if you’re watching a horror film.. Reallllyy creepy.. so better read it in daylight.. :))

,,i really liked it..and i still have hangover bout that creepy book..coz i finished reading it this morning..right after my eyes opened..that is the first thing that i saw beside me..*it belongs to my ate na katabi ko matulog* so i decided to read it early in the morning..i spent 3hrs reading it..and ughh! when i was reading the last page that says..”huwag mong babasahin ang hindi mo naiintindihan”..i felt cold and as if there’s really someone that is hugging me..my gosh! then i decided not to read the entire ending of it..takot ako eh..=’))

Thanks for the review! I’m supposed to buy this book instantly when I first saw it but the back cover made me think twice because of the back cover. And thanks to your review and the vid, I finally knew what it was about :S Don’t like horror films/books but I’m still gonna buy it because its Bob Ong’s :D Thanks!

a friend told me not to read the last part at night, especially during 12 to 3am,,,
its a chant to call out spirits…
during our stay in our chapter, one of our mates read the last part of the book…
creepy,,, we’re in a closed room in the bleeding area,,, pero biglang lumamig ang hangin…
lalo na sa paanan..
then one our our mates suddenly sees russel,
yung batang nagpapakita dun sa chapter,
sinabi nya na lang sa amin nung umaga na…